It's a Small World After All

"Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas..."

Today is the 36th anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World here in central Florida, an event that turned this little cow-town of Orlando into a much, much larger cow-town. With rides. In 1971 WDW consisted of a few hotels, a monorail, golf courses, and the Magic Kingdom. Personally, I've always loved the place, overpriced churros and all. Back in 1970 my parents took me to the Preview Center, which showed what guests could expect when the park opened (presumably not mentioning the churros). My dad was excited, but financially the family wasn't able to swing a vacation there until the late 1970s. Since I moved to Orlando I've kept an annual pass about half the years I've been here.

Rides have come and gone over the years... Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is long-gone, replaced with a saccharine Winnie the Pooh ride. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has been replaced with... well, nothing. They filled in the lagoon and put yet another character meeting spot in its place where parents can take photos of screaming toddlers with six-foot-tall rodents, and more recently a Winnie the Pooh themed play area. As much as I miss the old rides, I understand that the only way to remain competitive is to constantly update, and it's not too bad as many of the classics (like the good old Haunted Mansion) are still there, often little changed. The Magic Kingdom is like a slice of old America, a less cynical time. The rides and attractions there have an endurance that is missing from almost every other non-Disney theme park... does anyone think people four decades from now will have nostalgic feelings for the Shrek 4-D ride at Universal? Of course not. Most won't even know it was ever there, it having been gutted decades ago and replaced by the next flavor-of-the-month ride based on a different, more recent film franchise. But the doom buggies will still be winding their way through the Haunted Mansion.

(For a fun look at the Disney World of the past, check out Widen Your World. I still miss the crappy hamburgers at the Adventureland Veranda. They put pineapple slices and teriyaki sauce on them, in what passed in the '70s for exotic theme-park food.)